Tacofino requires no press from me. It’s the single place every Tofino native and tourist alike can agree to eat for lunch. It’s grown from a single taco truck parked behind a surf shop at the edge of the world to a multi-location empire stretching it’s delicious octopus-like tendrils all over the island and mainland. It’s food is always on point, so there is no reason to review it…
…Except it changed my life!
Read More
A decade ago, going to the Pacific Rim for a Summer trip was a relatively simple affair. The most daunting part was navigating the winding, single-lane roller coaster of a road across the island. Once you and your family had arrived it was a simple matter of finding some parking at Big Beach and figuring out which gas station in Tofino had the best ice cream.
Now vacationing along the Pacific Rim is a vastly more complicated affair: The road is still shit, but instead of fearing the local yahoo’s pickup truck swerving into you it’s the endless parade of tourists ineptly driving monolithic motor homes or luxury sedans that keep your knuckles white. The vast expanse of beaches are choked with people and downtown Tofino is like the sweltering crush of Robson Street in Van compressed into four square blocks… Good luck finding any ice cream amongst the Patagonia vendors and gourmet Ramen joints. Read More
It’s been a hell of a holiday season, or what the mighty Greg Proops recently referred to as “The frantic week of unbelievable mayhem”. And I along with my fellow hospitality brethren need a couple nights of actual sleep and a lot of beers to make up for all the Christmas mornings, New Years parties and warm fuzzy family moments that we’ve missed. *Phssssst* Here’s to 2015 and all of the surprising moments and spectacular meals that we have survived!
It all happened so fast.
One minute my wife Crystal is explaining what “Family Day” is, and the next she’s outlining her plan; two days off together, score a cheap hotel room over on the Pacific Rim, weekend of adventure with our mutual friends Jen and Sean and the kicker… She already nabbed four seats at The Wolf in The Fog, Canada’s best new restaurant.
“Jen and Sean have already gone over and will text us the road conditions,” she explains whiles stuffing a shopping bag full of toiletries, “They’re predicting a hurricane on Friday, but it should all be cleared up before we get there! Adventure right?”
I’m standing there in my bike pants, still soggy from my ride home from work, face squidged up in shock/concentration/confusion.
“Uhhhhhh, okay… I’m in. But ummm… What’s Family Day again?”
It’s been a scorcher this summer.
Not that I’m complaining… I like getting to work with dry socks and I love spending my weekends in the great outdoors!
It’s been a big change to have two days off with my wife! *laughs* Go ahead and insert your off-colour marriage joke here… But really, Crystal and I have been mountain biking, hiking, taking the dog to the beach and adventuring to new restaurants, farmer’s markets and junk shops. In short, we’ve enjoyed ourselves a lot.
Consequently, I haven’t spent as much time on the blog as I suppose I should… Sorry y’all.
During all these shenanigans I’ve discovered a handful of new, local beers that have accompanied and enhanced said shenanigans in all the right ways.